Method and apparatus for resurfacing roofs



g- 1958 G. E. DOWLEN ET AL 2,847,318

' METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RESURFACING ROOFS Filed Dec. 14, 1955 V II; IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Ross M. Tefff '1 g 3 By ATTORNEYS United States Pate 07 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RESURFACING ROOFS George E. Dowlen, Aurora, and Ross M. Teift, Denver,

' 'Colo.; said Teift assignor to said Dowleu Application December 14,1955, Serial No. 553,050 A 10 Claims; c1. 117-2 ,portions of the mix are by-passed back to the reservoir when the discharge outlet is closed, and having means for blowing out or cleaning the outlet or discharge line and the discharge nozzle of the apparatus.

I A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus as aforesaid having pipes or conduits for delivering the mix under air pressure from the mix-containing reservoir to the discharge nozzle, wherein means is provided to prevent the mix from becoming clogged in its passage to said nozzle.

Another object of our invention is to provide an apparatus which includes a blow-off safety valve for the material reservoir or tank, flow control valves in the pipes or conduits, an air pressure gage for indicating the air pressure supplied to the material (mix) to be dis- .charged, and one which is capable of being mounted or installed upon a truck platform to thus be capable of being moved to the particular location where the roof resurfacing job is to be done.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from .the following description and appended claims when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

"In said drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a truck having the .apparaus of our invention installed thereupon.

2,847,318 Patented Aug. 12, 1958 of the prior art.

One form of the apparatus embodying our present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 of which shows it mounted or installed upon a truck, shown as a whole at 10. The truck has a cab 11, a floor or platform 12, a front wall 13 adjacent cab 11, and side walls, only one section thereof being shown at 14. The truck has the usual road wheels, the right rear wheel 15 only being seen in Fig. 1.

The apparatus of our invention is shown as a whole at 16. It comprises a material (mix) containing tank or hopper 17 having a threaded neck 18 upon which a removable cap 19 is threaded. Cap 19 carries apopoil pressure safety valve 20 which may be of any suitable conventional type which will open automatically at a given figure to release and thus relieve surplus pressure within tank 17 and connected pipes or conduits of the apparatus or system. 1 Y

The bottom of hopper or tank "17 has a frusto-conical or funnel-like outlet 21, see especially Fig. 1, which is connected by a short length of vertical pipe .22 having a Shut-off valve 22a therein, to a length of horizontal pipe or conduit 23 and welded or soldered thereto. The horizontal pipe section 23 has a slot or opening 24 in its top wall in registry with the vertical pipe section 22, see Fig. 2.

Pipe section 23 is part of a series or assembly of pipe or conduit sections, best seen in Fig. 2, and which provide the conduit system of our invention to connect a source of air supply (not shown) and material-containing hopper 17 with a discharge nozzle to be described.

A source of air under pressure from a compressor or air supply tank (not shown) enters the conduit system through a'pipe or hose A attached by a suitable coupling 26 to a pipe section 25. The pipe is threaded into a T-coupling 27 which also has attached to it pipesections 28 and 51. Pipe section 28 is connected to a regulator valve assembly 29 Whose valve is controlled by a handle 29a. Attached to the valve assembly 29 by a short pipe 30a is an air pressure gage 30. A pipe section 31 extends from valve assembly 29 and is threaded into an elbow 32. Pipe section 33 connected to elbow 32 is threaded into a cut off valve assembly 34 having a valve control handle 340:. A length of pipe 35 extends from the other side of valve assembly 34 and is threaded Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section,

of the piping or conduits, discharge nozzle, control valves andpressure gage of the apparatus of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary'longitudinal section I of the means for preventing clogging of the material (mix) which passes through the pipes or conduits on its way to the discharge nozzle of the apparatus.

Before explaining in detail the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to .the details of construction and arrangeat 35a, see Fig. 3, to threadedly engage the adjacent end of the enlarged portion 23a of conduit member 23.

Conduit 35 has an internal plug 36 at its threaded end. The plug is drilled in two places to receive and support spaced tubes 37 and 38. Tube 37, as shown, is

I somewhat longer than lower tube 38 for a purpose to be explained below. The parts designated 23, 23a, 36, 37

and 38 together provide the booster and material (mix) anti-clogging means of the apparatus of our invention.

The right end of conduit 23, as viewed in Fig. 2, is

' threaded in to a Y-coupling 39. A length of pipe 40 connects coupling 39 with a T-coupling 41 from one.side of whicha flexible pipe, conduit or hose 42 of desired length extends. This hose 42 is attached to the handle portion 43a of a discharge nozzle 43 under the control of a cut oif valve assembly 44 having a valve actuating handle 45, see Fig. l.

A by-pass pipe or flexible hose 46 is connected to T- coupling 41 and extends to and is attached by a coupling member 46a, with a pipe 47 depending from elbow 48 attached to the side wall of mix-containing tank or hopper 17.

A so-called branch line or conduit is provided to connect couplings 39 and 27, see Fig. 2. This is ineifect a clean out line and comprises a pipe or conduit 49 which em in place.

extends from Y-coupling 39 toward coupling 27 and is threaded into a cut off valve assembly 50 having a control handle 50a. The line is completed by a pipe or conduit 51 which connects the other side of valve assembly 50 with T-coupling 27 Air under pressure entering the system through pipe or hose A from a suitable source of supply (not shown) is checked by pressure gage and the pressure is regulated or controlled by manipulating valve control handle 29a of valve assembly 29. In practice, if the roof resurfacing is being done to the roof of a one-story building, for example, the air pressure-for entraining the granular material (mix) ;which gravitates from hopper or tank 17 through funnel-like member 21 and pipe 22 to he carried to nozzle 43, should be maintained at approximately two (2) pounds. If, however, the job is being done on the roof of a two-story or three-story -bu1lding,-air-at a pressure of approximately six (6) or seven (7) pounds is desirable.

When a roof is to be resurfaced, the first step is to apply, preferably in horizontal strips, a coating of asbestos fibre liquid asphalt standard roof coating which contains solvent that evaporates so that the coating hard- This is applied through a hose under pumping pressure and in a fluent but cold condition at the rate of approximately one and one-half (1 /2) gallons per 100 square feet of roof surface. The quantity required will vary, however, in accordance with the dryness of the roof.

After the above application, the apparatus of our invention is employed to apply ground roofing granules (mix) which may be slate, ceramic or natural and mixed for color effect, to the newly applied asphalt coating mentioned above before it sets. On an average, pounds of the rock coating (mix) per 100 square feet of roof are blown through nozzle 43 by an air pressure which is sufficient to cause the granules to adhere firmly to the asphalt coating and to force the synthetic shingles of the original roofing back in place. The amount of granules required varies in accordance with the slope or pitch of the roof being treated. The gage 30 will, of course, have been checked to determine the correct air pressure for the roof elevation with cut off valve 34, 35 open toallow air to flow to the anti-clogging means 36, 37, 38 and then to nozzle 43 upon manipulating handle 45 of valve 44. Granules from hopper 17 will pass through slot 24, Fig. 2, and be entrained by the air stream under pressure passing through pipes 23, 40, 41 and hose 42 to the discharge nozzle 43.

Clogging of the line is prevented by reason of the provision of tubes 37 and 38 through which the air under pressure passes at high velocity and impinges at two spaced points against the stone granules entering conduit 23 through slot 24. The force of the impingement will be less intense by the air from tube 38 than that from longer tube 37 since the air emitted by tube 38 is distributed over the large area within conduit 23 prior to the emergence of the air from pipe or tube 37. Thus, instead of concentrating a single blast of air of a given velocity against the entire mass or area of the granules entering pipe 23 to cause their movement as a body toward the nozzle, with likely clogging of the conduit en route, two separate blasts of air at different velocities impinge against the granules at different points of the mass so that the force is unbalanced and the body concentration divided. Hence, the danger of clogging is eliminated, or at least greatly minimized.

When the handle 45 is moved to close valve 44, shutting off the flow of the mix to the nozzle 43, any granules entrained by the air streams in conduit 23 will be blown back into the tank or hopper 17 through a return line which is com-posed of the pipes and fittings 41, 46, 46a, 47 and 48, see Figs. 1 and 2.

After considerable use of our apparatus it may become desirable to clean or blow out the conduit line from pipe 23 to the nozzle 43. To do this it is merely necessary to close valve 29 and 34in the main line, open valve 50 in the so-called clean out line 49, 51 and also open control valve 44 of the nozzle unit, and then turn on the air under its normal tank or pump pressure. This air will travel through air hose A, pipes 25, 51, past valve 50, through pipe 49 and Y-coupling 39, through pipe 40 and T-coupling 41 to hose 42 and past control valve 44 to'and through the nozzle, thus freeing the entire line through which the granules (mix) normally pass.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for applying a rock mix under air pressure to a newly-applied coating of asbestos fibre liquid asphalt on a roof, comprising a hopper for the mix, a main air and mix-conducting line associated with the hopper, valve controlled discharge nozzle at one end of the main line, the other end of said main line receiving air under pressure from a source of supply, separate valve means for controlling the flow of air and a mixture of air and the rock mix to said nozzle, and means in the main line between the air supply and the discharge nozzle to preventclogging of the mix in the main line between the hopper and the nozzle, said last-named means'including apair of air-conducting tubes of unequal length located in the main line to divide the stream of air under pressure-before it impinges against the mix.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a separate by-pass return pipe extends'from the main line back to said hopper to return the mix to the hopper when the discharge nozzle control valve is closed.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a clean out valve-controlled air conducting line is connected at its opposite endsto the main line on opposite sides-of the mix-receiving hopper and between said hopper and the discharge nozzle for cleaning out the main line between the hopper and nozzle at predetermined times.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main line is valve controlled, wherein an air pressure gage is operatively associated with one of the valves in said main line, and wherein a pop-01f safety pressure valve is associated with said hopper.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a clean out valve-controlled air conducting line is connected at its opposite ends to the main line on opposite sides of the 'mix-receiving hopper and between said hopper and the discharge nozzle for cleaning out the main line between the hopper and nozzle at predetermined times.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a separate by-pass return pipe extends from the main line back to said hopper to return the mix to the hopper when the discharge nozzlecontrol valve is closed, and wherein a clean out valve-controlled air conducting line is connected at its opposite end to the mainline on opposite sides of the mix-receiving hopper and between said hopper and the discharge nozzle for cleaning out the main line between the hopper and nozzle at predetermined times.

7. The method .of resurfacing composition roofsof the shingled type, which comprises directing a pressure discharge of an unheated liquid composition along a succession of substantially horizontal courses against the exposed surfaces of composition shingles lying along such course, said liquid composition including asbestos fibre distributed throughout'a liquefied asphaltic composition containing an evaporating agent, said pressure discharge forming a fluent coating of substantial thickness on the shingles, and then directing a high velocity, airborne discharge of finely-divided rock into the coating surface of each course before the evaporation causes it to set, said discharge being under suflicient force to flatten loose'shingles and cause the rock discharge to adhere to said coating.

8. The method of resurfacing composition roofs of the shingled type, which comprises directing a variable pressure discharge of an unheated liquid composition along a succession of substantially horizontal courses against the exposed surfaces of composition shingles lying along such course, said liquid composition including asbestos fibre distributed throughout a liquefied asphaltic composition containing an evaporating agent, said pressure discharge forming a fluent coating of substantial thickness on the shingles, and then directing a variable high velocity, air-borne discharge. of finelydivided rock into the coating surface of each course before the evaporation causes it to set, said discharge being under suflicient force to flatten loose shingles and cause the rock discharge to adhere to said coating.

9. The method as defined in claim 7, in which the coating is applied in an amount of approximately one and one-half gallons per 100 square feet of surface.

G 10. The method as defined in claim 7, in which the rock is applied to the coated surface in an amount of approximately 35 pounds per 100 square feet of surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 455,463, Pratt July 7, 1891 1,751,343 Mack Mar. 18, 1930 1,774,953 Titmas Sept. 2, 1930 1,805,632 Milar May 19, 1931 2,318,339 Stone May 4, 1943 2,347,250 Burnett Apr. 25, 1944 2,424,234 Greider July 22, 1947 2,581,640 Fasold Jan. 8, 1952 

7. THE METHOD OF RESURFACING COMPOSITION ROOFS OF THE SHINGLED TYPE, WHICH COMPRISES DIRECTING A PRESSURE DISCHARGE OF AN UNHEATED LIQUID COMPOSITION ALONG A SUCCESSION OF SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL COURSES AGAINST THE EXPOSED SURFACE OF COMPOSITION SHINGLES LYING ALONG SUCH COURSE, SAID LIQUID COMPOSITION INCLUDING ABESTOS FIBRE DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT A LIQUEFIED ASPHATIC COMPOSITION CONTAINING AN EVAPORATION AGENT, SAID PRESSURE DISCHARGE FORMING A FLUENT COATING OF SUBSTANTIAL THICKNESS ON THE SHINGLES, AND THEN DIRECTING A HIGH VELOCITY, AIRBORNE DISCHARGE OF FINELY-DIVIDED ROCK INTO THE COATING SURFACE OF EACH COURSE BEFORE THE EVAPORATION CAUSES IT TO SET, SAID DISCHARGE BEING UNDER SUFFICIENT FORCE TO FLATEN LOOSE SHINGLES AND CAUSE THE ROCK DISCHARGE TO ADHERE TO SAID COATING. 